Nosebleed Weekend is the fifth recording by the Atlanta trio, The Coathangers. After years of making inspired mischievous lo-fi garage-punk, channeling everything from riot grrrl to hardcore punk, and along the way, discovering the potential in their sound, the band has decided to make Nosebleed Weekend the most accessible and meticulous record of their very productive ten-year career. There’s pop on this new record, not the selling-out kind but the one you dream bands like these get to produce sometimes. It’s the adventurous kind of pop, the one you want to inject in some of your compositions when needed. It helped that the band decided to slow the fuck down the tempo and contain the guitar’s distortion effects to let the singer-songwriter come out of them. A lot of these new songs have a very1970s and 1980s female-fronted band vibe, sometimes kind of balladesque, quite sober and other times louder and rockier like a Suzi Quatro-Runaways without the glam excess. One of my favorite albums of 2016 plus one of the best live acts around these days.

RIYL: Death Valley Girls, Suzi Quatro, The Paranoyds, Las Ultrasonicas and The Runaways.

FCC WARNING: 3, 6
Recommended Tracks: 1, 3 (FCC), 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12

1. (3:59) *Perfume – Balladesque medium-up tempo rock n’ roller with a 1970s Ork Records vibe. Great melody.
2. (2:40) Dumb Baby – Upbeat punker. A lighter take on their early sound.
3. (2:47) ***Squeeki Tiki – FCC (Shit). Channeling early Bikini Kill energy and 1980s New York mutant disco, this killer track with an absurd, contagious vocal melody is like nothing else on the record. My favorite on the album. Take it or leave it.
4. (2:50) **Excuse Me? – Medium tempo punker. Dark and enthralling. Totally playable.
5. (3:01) *Make It Right – Slick upbeat Ramonesque track. Perfect place where garage and punk meet.
6. (2:42) Nosebleed Weekend – FCC (Shit). Medium-up tempo track with great guitar riff. Black Sabbath meets The Dead Kennedys.
7. (2:41) ***Watch Your Back – Upbeat and exciting track, full of killer guitar moments and rhythmic changes. One of their strongest tracks in their entire catalog. Instant classic.
8. (2:24) **Burn Me – Fast tempo punker. Intoxicating guitar work. You burn me!
9. (2:41) I Don't Think So – Medium-up tempo track. Vintage melody, sharp guitars. Garage-punk all the way. Early Runaways comes to mind.
10. (3:10) **Down Down – Part 1960s go-go, part garage rock. Medium tempo with absorbing melody and great guitars. Another highlight from the album.
11. (2:34) **Hiya – Medium-up tempo recording with killer guitar riff, 1960s pop influenced vocals and the right length. Ramonesque.
12. (2:49) *Had Enough – Impressive slow/medium tempo punk ballad. Effective.
13. (4:20) Copycat – Guitar driven, laid-back track. Melancholic.